UCSD gets top 10 ranking again

UC San Diego edged up a notch and was named the eighth best public university in the country and 37th best overall on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list released Monday night.

The university has made the publication’s top 10 list of public universities for the past decade. Last year it was ranked ninth and 39th among all universities.

The magazine considered 280 institutions in the national university category and ranked them based on 16 indicators including academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity and alumni giving.

The University of San Diego was ranked No. 95 in the nation and San Diego State University was ranked No. 149. USD dropped four spots while SDSU was up three spots.

“It is an honor for UC San Diego once again to be recognized as one of the nation’s 10 best public universities,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said in a statement.

On the West regional list, Point Loma Nazarene University was ranked No. 16, up one from a year ago, and California State University San Marcos was ranked No. 94, down from 70th a year ago.

The magazine also ranked engineering and business programs. USD’s was ranked No. 14 for engineering programs that award bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while UCSD’s program was ranked 26th for schools that award doctorates. UCSD’s undergraduate business program was ranked 62nd while SDSU’s was ranked No. 93.

The magazine tracked schools with the heaviest and lightest debt. SDSU was ranked 15th in the country for students with the least debt. U.S. News said 52 percent of SDSU students graduate with no debt and the average amount borrowed by students who incurred debt was $18,100.